C49: Horne Village

When Alan opened his eyes, his head was against Winry's shoulder. Winry's arms were tugged around him, and she was holding on to him, not letting him slide down from her shoulder to her sensual places.

"Finally, Alan. Your awake." She said, smiling at the boy.

Alan blinked and looked at his left, and Lucy was hugging onto his arm from the left, almost drooling on his sleeve.

"AGH! Don't drool! Don't drool over me!!" Alan yanked his hand away from her grasp, frightened by her.

"Aaaahh! Who disturbed my sleep!" Lucy yelled, grasping onto Alan's hand once more.

"My God..." Elijah sighed upon seeing her team. "We're here, guys. Time to wrap up and settle at a place. Get ready!" She declared to the team.

***

[Horne]

Horne wasn't a very large village, like Hysteria. It was quite small, despite being a rest stop for Monorith.

However, it was really popular for being one of the eeriest villages of all time.

Horne was quite the strange village. Horne was surrounded by wild and tall pine trees that had been growing for ages. No woodcutters ever dared to cut down those trees, for some strange reason.

However, the village was big enough to maintain enough settlers and manage quite a large population.

"Welcome to Horne, travelers. What might bring you here?" The man who stood near the border of the village asked from Owl, who was the one riding the carriage.

"We're heading on a quest to Monorith..." Owl answered, gazing at the man below him.

The commoner was wearing a white shirt and some brown trousers, almost like every villager does. Narrowing his eyes, he asked from him, "Where are the royal knights? Aren't they here? Not even a knight from Monorith?"

The commoner laughed upon hearing this. "Why would they focus on protecting us, my friend? There are no shackles tied to them here."

Owl was surprised to hear this.

"Hmm... Well then, thank you for the greetings, my friend."

Snap! Owl whipped the leash and the horses started to move once more. The wooden gates opened and they passed through to the Horne village.

***

The houses were made from old birches and some parts from cobblestone. Despite the wild trees growing around the village, the village seems awfully common.

The carriage of the Shadow Phoenix continued through the roads and finally came to a stop in front of an inn with a sign that read, "Weary Dreamers."

"Hmm... This should be fine, guys... Let's settle here!" Owl yelled to the back of the carriage.

A moment later, Elijah and Luke came through, opening the curtains that hid the back of the carriage from the place where the rider was sitting.

"Oh? Creepy name, but that'll do." Luke asserted, looking at the five-floor inn. Half of it was made from cobblestone, though wines were growing all over the walls.

Alan took a peek at the inn, slowly peering through the curtains. "Ew... That looks like a... Brothel of witches." Alan said, wincing.

[Heh? What's a brothel of Witches?? Do they really —] before Liana could speak, a memory flashed inside Alan's head, allowing her to see the memory from Alan's previous life.

A sight of true horror. Witches tied young travelers to beds, making them drink potions that would make them see the old witches as young ladies and forcefully torturing young knights with curses.

[AGGHHH!!!]

"Oh fuck..." Alan blurted out in front of the three who were gazing at the inn.

"Eh?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

Alan instantly shook his head, forgetting everything and clearing his mind. "No no... Just got shudders when I saw those wines..."

They unloaded their luggage into the inn and halted their carriage at a place nearby. It was already nearing sundown when they settled, so they knew that they had to stay for another night.

However, there was one simple problem. They only got two rooms with enough beds for everyone.

So they had to split up, the men and the women sleeping in the two individual rooms.

'Jeez... So awkward. Reminds me of the old days when I was in the dorms with the King's Vanity.' Alan muttered to himself, sitting on the small bed near the window.

Everyone got double-decker beds so the room was enough for all of them.

However, Alan didn't want to waste even another day, waiting for the 15 souls to be gained. So, he decided to go searching for a simple quest to solve this matter.

"Hmm... Where are you going, Alan? It's almost sundown..." Luke asked from the man, while he got into his white jacket.

Owl was busy reading a book above Aether's bunker, while Rick had been missing for some time now.

"I have some personal problem of gathering 15 souls... Why might you ask?" Alan asked Luke, standing up from his bed.

"Oh... Well then, let me help you... It's not like I have anything to do, so..."

Alan raised an eyebrow at Luke upon hearing his words. "Uhh..."

[Aw, take the poor thing with you.]

Alan narrowed his eyes at Luke and said, "Sure thing." However, that tone wasn't completely friendly.

"Thank you for letting me tag along!"

***

Alan and Luke passed through the hallways and out of the Weary Dreams.

The streets were not very crowded, since the sunset was close. However, Alan didn't have the slightest idea where to find a monster or even a quest, so he went to the closest shop and asked the young woman in there about it.

"Hey, can you tell me where to find a little mission or two? Where do the villagers go to report the troubles and such?" Alan asked the young lady in the shop.

"A mission... Well, what may be your concern? Do you have a case to report?" The young lady asked.

"No, I am just looking for some quests to fill my pockets." Alan bluffed with a smile.

"Oh? Then... The best place is the Ruthford Library, just up the road. There aren't many adventures who accept quests in Horne, my lad. I suggest that you do not interfere with these monsters in the woods."

The young lady sounded frightening, however, it wasn't much frightening for Alan, since he knew his way around the enemies.

"Not to worry, I have my friend there in the back, and all the support I need."

"Oh? Well then, good luck to both of you." The woman wished them luck, as she slowly walked away from the shop counter, waving them goodbye.

'Hmm... Weird place.' Alan thought, gazing back at the streets of Horne.

[Indeed!] Liana agreed.

"Alan... Why do you need 15 souls for?" Luke asked as they walked up the street to the Ruthford Library. "Daily quests?"

Alan narrowed his eyes at Luke and answered, "Yes." He preferred not to share his secrets with Luke, although his face was trustworthy.

When they finally walked up the front steps to the library, the sunset was very close.

The library wasn't filled with people, instead, it hardly had any. It was strange that the library was open all day long, but that came in handy for Alan at the moment.

They slowly pushed through the massive wooden door, entering the library.

"Hmm..." Alan looked around the place and it was so silent. It was a gloomy place, filled with lanterns that could hardly light up the library.

However, the place wasn't that big, so it was quite calm with only a few people inside.

"W – W — Welcome to the Library!" A trembling shy voice came through from behind. Alan turned around, only to gaze at a magnificent beauty.

[WOOHOO!]

Standing in front of him was a tall and fair woman, wearing two round glasses. She was fully dressed in a blue and white dress, from neck to knee but even then, she could hardly hide those enormous breasts and those wild hips with an ass that would make any man drool.

Luke and Alan gazed at the woman, who was hugging a large book in her two hands, her cheeks gone entirely red.

"H — How can I help you??" The woman blurted out once more, her face utterly flushed.